Reports: Shan Masood to retain captaincy for Test series against England. (Source – Twitter/X)
After dismal outings against Australia and Bangladesh in the red-ball arena after Shan Masood took over from Babar Azam, it was expected that the former would be removed from the post of captaincy and someone else would be handed over the reins. Previous reports also suggested that either of Babar Azam or Mohammad Rizwan would be handed the role, considering their relatively more experienced CV with the Pakistan team.
However, recent reports have suggested that the southpaw will be given one additional opportunity. Not only that, he will also be a chief component in selecting the squad for the high-octane series.
The report by Cricket Pakistan suggests that post consultation with the skipper and head coach, the selection committee will finalise a roster of players. The preliminary draft will get finalized only on the consent of the chairperson of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi.
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Shafique and Ayub might face the axe for the England series
It is being indicated that Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub might not be picked for the series against England post underwhelming displays recently, with the management likely to focus on giving a new opening pair a chance.
Due to his well-established legacy, Babar is unlikely to be eliminated from the reckoning despite managing only 64 runs across four innings in Pakistan’s humiliating loss to Bangladesh at home as well as not managing to accrue a single 50-plus score in his last 16 Test innings.
Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were dropped for the second Test against Bangladesh. It will interesting to see the stance the PCB takes on them, come October.
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The first couple of Tests will be played in Multan. Originally, the second game was supposed to take place in Karachi but the venue was ruled out due to the ongoing renovation for the Champions Trophy to be hosted by Pakistan early next year. The third and final game is slated to be played in Rawalpindi.